When the leaves fall, So will the innocent
by 9PoisonIvy9
Summary: When Bella Swan finds herself falling desperately in love with her next-door-neighbour and best friend, Edward Cullen, she feels like she's losing all sense of sanity. And when a serial killer marks her as his next victim, her safety slips away too.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The sound of the alarm clock was an irritating intrusion into the comfortable haze of sleep that wrapped its arms around Bella. She dragged her hand out from beneath the warm cocoon of blankets to hit the snooze button. She kept her eyes closed; trying to let the haze reclaim her, but the damage had already been done. She was awake now.

She sighed, still not ready to untangle herself from the covers, and she tried to recall what she had been dreaming about before being so rudely interrupted. For a moment, she thought she might remember, but the elusive whisper of her dream escaped her yet again.

This was the third day of school, and she didn't want to start her senior year with a tardy slip. She rubbed her face with both hands, trying to stimulate the flow of blood in an effort to stay alert. She was not a morning person, unlike some people she could mention.

She stumbled through most of her before-school routine; showering, brushing her teeth, dressing. After scrutinizing herself in the mirror and noting the dark cycles beneath her eyes, she once again thought how badly she wanted to crawl back beneath the mound of already cooling blankets that covered her bed like an inviting nest.

She pulled her hair into a messy ponytail- the only kind of ponytail that her unruly brown coloured waves allowed- before grabbing her backpack off the floor. She hated it when adults told her how lucky she was to have such gorgeous, natural waves, when she wanted nothing more than to blend in with the sea of shiny, flat-ironed, stick-straight hair with which every girl in her school seemed to have been blessed apart from her.

But what did she expect? Life didn't seem to want her to blend in like everyone else.

She glowered at her reflection one last time before she hurried out the door and crossing her fingers, like she did every morning, that her ancient little truck would splutter into life when she tried to start it.

Her truck.

Her father called it a 'classic'.

She wasn't so kind in her description of the small truck with its original factory red paint that was fading after years of being battered by the rainy weather of Forks.

She called it dilapidated.

Reliable, her father would argue back. And Bella couldn't entirely disagree. So far, despite its morning protests and groans- so much like her own- her little ancient truck had never been the cause of one of her (many) late slips.

Today was no different. The car coughed and spewed when she turned the ignition, but the engine caught on the first attempt and, after a few coaxing moments, the sound turn to something closer to its usual not-so-quiet grumbling.

Bella pulled out of her drive and parked it again in front of her next-door-neighbour and best friend's house, Edward Cullen.

Best friend. The expression seemed to foreign now, like an old, comfortable sneaker that once practically moulded to your foot but now strained against each step you took because it no longer fit.

The summer had changed things...too many things for Bella's liking.

Her parents and Edward's parents had been best friends for as long as they could remember and the feeling rubbed off on them. Ever since they were in dippers, Bella and Edward were inseparable.

They spent years of their childhoods combing through the forested areas that surrounded both their homes, as the explored and built clubhouses out of old timber. They had mapped and named entire sections of the woods, several of them after themselves. Things like 'Swan Stream'...'Edward Woods'...'Cullen Trail'...Bella Meadow'.

The4y had done everything together. Best friends forever. So why, then, had everything changed so suddenly?

Already, as she tapped her fingers impatiently on her steering wheel, her heart was racing within suddenly too-confined space of her chest.

_This is ridiculous_ she chided herself. _He's your best friend!_

She saw the front door opening and Edward yanking his hooded sweatshirt over his head, dragging his backpack in his wake. He yelled something into the house, probably telling his family he was leaving for school, and he pulled the door shut behind him.

He had four siblings all together and all of them were adopted. Carslie Cullen and Esme Cullen were like super-parents; and their whole family looked like freaking rockstars or super-models. And each and every one of them was her best friends.

There was Alice Cullen who, if anything, was normally described as a pixie who has had too much caffeine. Rosalie Cullen was only the hottest girl in the school and had boys falling literally at her feet wherever she went. Jasper Cullen-Alice's boyfriend- looked a little like Rosalie only more quiet and thoughtful. Emmet Cullen was probably the most muscular person Bella had ever met and was Rosalie's boyfriend.

It was the same thing every day. Edward would ride with her and his siblings would rid together to school. There was nothing different from yesterday and the day before that. Nothing different from every single day since they had met.

Except that now her stomach was climbing into her throat as he grinned his stupid lop-sided grin at her and slid into her truck.

She smiled back, willing her reckless pulse to slow down. "Ready?"

"No, but do we have a choice?" His voice, which had gotten deeper over the summer, was still so well-known to her; so comfortable that she immediately relaxed.

"Not if you don't want to end up in the Principal's office for skiving."

She backed out of the driveway, barely glancing in her rear-view mirror to watch where she was going. His driveway was almost as familiar to her as her own.

She hated those new, unknown feelings that seemed to assault her whenever he was around and sometimes even when he was only in her thoughts. She felt like she was no longer in control of her own body, and her traitorous reactions were only slightly more embarrassing than her treacherous thoughts.

She was starting to feel like he was toxic to her.

Well, that, or she was seriously losing her mind. And what really irritated Bella was that he seemed to be completely oblivious of these new, and completely insane, reactions she was having to him. Obviously, whatever she had wasn't contagious.

Except that it was. She wasn't the only one that seemed to be noticing him. She almost hated the moment they'd step out from her relative peace of her noisy truck into the school's overcrowded parking lot. Because that's when the real game began.

Day three of school, but as of day one, girls had begun to wait for them to arrive in the morning.

_No, not for them...for Edward._

_His new fan club _Bella thought sourly.

By the time she had managed to fund a parking spot, there were only two die-hard 'Edward fans' left waiting for them. _Or rather, for him _Bella corrected herself again.

Bella decided not to wait around to watch the flirt-fest begin. She was already half running- and trying not to trip as usual- with her backpack slung over her shoulder as she bolted from her car. "See you in second period!" she yelled back at Edward, consciously deciding that this was better anyway. The last thing she wanted to do right now was to watch him with two girls, who practically assaulted him as he got out of the truck.

_Made it_ she congratulated herself. _Three days down and no tardy slips._

Just one hundred and seventy-seven to go.

**Drew looks at me,**

**I fake a smile so he won't see**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

By the time second period rolled around, Bella was already convincing herself whatever it was she thought she'd been feeling, whatever plagued her ill-advised subconscious, was just an illusion of some sort. It was all smoke and mirrors; a trick of the mind.

And then he sauntered in and fell into the chair beside her.

"Hey, Bells. Glad to see you decided to stay at school after all" Edward joked, using one of their old and private jokes. He punched her arm playfully.

Her hear somersaulted painfully.

Bella sighed. She really wasn't in the mood for his games. "Ha-ha" she retorted without a trace of humour.

Edward's brow furrowed, but he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "I almost forgot. Check it out." He held out the paper so she could grab it from him.

She unfolded it and tried to smooth it out a little so she could read it. As it turned out she didn't need to bother; she would have been able to read the unmistakably feminine handwriting if the paper had been on fire.

It was a phone number. For Edward. From Tanya, only the most popular girl in the whole entire school. She was odd-on favourite to be Homecoming Queen this year and most likely Prom Queen too. She was tan, blonde and, as if that weren't bad enough, she also had the shiny, straight hair that Bella could only dream of.

This sucked.

Bella tried not to look too dear-caught-in-the-headlights when she glanced back at him. "Wow" was all she could think of to say.

"I know." Edward seemed as surprised as she was but still managed to appear pretty impressed with himself all the same. "She must have slid it into my locker while I was in first period."

"You gonna call her?" Bella tried not to sound petulant, but she certainly felt that way. She just wanted to be his friend and not to care about whether he called this girl or not. She wanted to listen to the gory details and ask him probing questions that would eventually have them off on some random tangent and laughing at their own stupid, private jokes. But somehow, she just couldn't.

She felt deflated as she handed the note back to him.

The bell, and then the teacher, interrupted before Edward could answer her not-so-innocent question. Edward took the note and stuffed it into his binder as trig class got underway.

Bella tried to concentrate on signs and cosines as she took notes on everything the teacher wrote on the white-board in front of the classroom, but she heard nothing. She could stop thinking about how she was going to get over this...this thing she had for her very best friend in the whole world.

And she had to get over it...soon. Because if she didn't, if she couldn't stop feeling so viral towards him, eventually it would affect their friendship, and there would be nothing she could do to stop it. She knew she couldn't let that happen.

He was Edward. He was the best person she'd ever known, and she couldn't imagine losing him. And losing him may also make her lose her friendship with Rosalie, Alice, Jasper and Emmet. She couldn't live without them either.

She allowed herself to look his way, pretending she was glancing at the clock on the wall above the door. He was meticulously lost in the lesson taking notes well beyond the scope of what was being written on the board and absentmindedly chewing on the end of his pen as he wrote- something he had taken after his father.

She was grateful that at least one of them was listening because she knew he was going to have to explain it all to her alter.

And he would, without ever knowing that he was the reason she hadn't hear a word of the lesson.

Doesn't life suck?

**What I want and I'm needing**

**Everything that we should be**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Bella avoided Edward at lunch- a first for her- opting instead to linger in her third-period English class under the pretext of finishing up some homework- homework that wasn't actually due until the beginning of next week. She managed to put off leaving the classroom for almost twenty minutes.

Then she wandered to the bathroom, not really the kind of place anyone wanted to 'hang out' by any stretch of the imagination. But she took her time, washing her hands, redoing her ponytail-which didn't really improve the second time around- and then washing her hands again.

Other girls- some she knew and some she didn't- came and went while she was in there, primping and gossiping as they stood in front of the disgusting mirrors.

Bella took her cue from them and even put lip gloss on which she almost never did. She had to dig into the bottom of her backpack just to find some.

When Rosalie and Alice walked in, Bella was actually relieved to see someone she could actually talk to, even if it was only for a few minutes.

"Where have you been?" Rosalie accused her in her usual blunt voice.

"Edward's been looking for you everywhere" Alice added.

Rosalie perched in front of the mirror and began the familiar ritual of preening, starting at her hair and working her way down while Alice merely study, tied her clothes, fixing them up it if it needed it.

Like Edward, both Rosalie and Alice changed over the summer.

Rosalie seemed to have discovered her femininity over night. She had always been sort of tomboy-ish and athletic but it was as if she now recognised that there was more to life then spiking a volleyball into your opponent's court or pitching a perfect game in fast-pitch softball. She seemed to have finally noticed how beautiful she really was too.

Alice had found out her passion for fashion and discovered her fashion superpower in the process. She used to wear plain clothes but not she had styled them her own way by adding stuff like badges to her bags and stuff like that. She also started making her own clothes and planning on being a fashion designer as her career.

Next to Edward, Rosalie and Alice were Bella's closest friends along with Emmet and Jasper. They were friends it wasn't weird to have sleepovers with...unlike Edward. And the ones she could share clothes with...unlike Edward.

And Bella had always liked- and even was a little jealous of- their attitudes. Rosalie's was always tell-it-like-it-is, even when they didn't necessarily want to hear-it-like-it-was. Alice's was more like I-know-what-your-really-want-even-if-you-don't-think-so-yourself attitude.

Now happened to be one of Rosalie's times.

"Well?" she asked when Bella didn't answer her. "I swear that boy can't function without you, not even at lunch.

"Yeah, you two are like the two sides of a coin" Alice commented as she spun in front of the mirror.

Bella winced, but neither of them seemed to notice. Where had she heard that one before?

"He'll be fine" Bella answered, more glumly than she had intended. "I'm sure someone else would be glad to sit with him."

Both girls looked up at the same time.

"Well, it doesn't really matter" Alice shrugged. "He's out in the hall way waiting. He asked us to come in here and look for you."

Bella just stared, and then she laughed. She was grateful, at least, for small miracles.

When Bella didn't move, both Rosalie and Alice grabbed her by the arms and started towing her towards the door.

"Come on!" Alice insisted. "Before out dear brother wastes away to nothing."

"All right, all right" Bella agreed as they drifted out of the girls' room to where Edward stood in the hallway, looking relieved to see her safe and sound at last.

Bella couldn't help feeling comforted to see that expression on his face. Maybe the girls were right after all. Maybe Edward couldn't survive without her.

At least that feeling was mutual, because she couldn't imagine getting by without him either.

With just five minutes to spare, Bella and her best friend since dippers had only enough time to raid the vending machines for chips and candy bar, before rushing off to their fourth-period class.

But it was okay now. Somehow, realizing that he hadn't outgrown her during his summer metamorphosis made her feel better. She felt secure again, just knowing that she was as important to him as he was to her.

Everything was going to be fine.

Sort of.

**I'll bet she's beautiful**

**That girl he talks about**


	4. Chapter 4

Predator and Prey

_The rain made it easier for him to get around unnoticed. Those who sat inside their own cars had their views impaired by the rain, foggy auto glass and windshield wipers. Those outside were too busy trying to stay dry by moving quickly and keeping their head down. The darkness only helped add to his invisibility._

_Unfortunately the rain also kept _her _indoors._

_Of course he was never truly invisible, not in the car he usually drove. It attracted attention and stares wherever he went, even on a dark and wet night like this one._

_But tonight was different. Tonight he blended. He had become one of them._

_He parked just a couple of houses away from _her _house and watched through the side window. Unluckily for _her _and luckily for him, _her _bedroom was just through that window, her light was on and he blinds were wide open. He wouldn't believe his luck; she was almost making it too easy. He watched he beautiful, slender figure swayed across the window with her luxurious wavy, chocolate brown hair swaying around her waist and catching the light perfectly._

_After watching _her _for a couple of hours of watching her, he whistled to himself as he pulled his car back onto the road._

_It had been a good night._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

After the first few rocky days of school, at least as far as her feelings for Edward went, Bella started to feel better. Not that the butterflies had vanished or anything, but like so many other things in her life, they faded into the background of her day-to-day activities, become more like white noise. And that was something she could deal with.

The girls didn't stop converging on Edward- it was quite the opposite, in fact- they seemed to be multiplying, following him around _en masse_. And while Bella didn't complain outwardly, Edward was starting to, which made Bella feel even more secure in her position at the top...for the time being anyway.

He grumbled to Bella about their sudden lack of privacy at school, protesting about the throng of girls that waited for them in the parking lot, or at his locket between classes, and even in the cafeteria at lunch. He began to notice girls individually, and each one had some annoying habit or an irritating personality flaw that grated on his nerves a little more with each passing day.

None of the girls noticed, or even cared for that matter, that he didn't give them the time of day. But Bella couldn't help feeling smugly satisfied, all though she kept her mouth shut and her opinions- even though she agreed with Edward- to herself.

She was also grateful that he never seemed to tire of her.

Outwardly at least, nothing had changed between the two of them. They drove to school together in the morning; walked to classes together they shared, ate together at lunch, and parted ways when they got home, only to talk on the phone in the evening or through the windows on the side of their houses. It was nice. And even though Bella silently craved more, it was comfortable.

And this Friday afternoon was no different.

Bella dropped her backpack on the floor inside her front door. It was the area that her mother not-so-fondly referred to as the 'shoe graveyard', where everyone who came in left their coats, shoes, umbrellas and, in this case, a backpack.

She smelled dinner already, and she knew that her mum was making lasagne. Not because of the aroma drifting out to meet her, but instead because, whenever her mum actually cooked something that was mostly edible, was lasagne. And it wasn't of the homemade variety either, but one of the pre-packaged mass-marked frozen ones. That, and a fresh loaf of French bread from the bakery, made up the meal that Bella had eaten more times than she cared to count. Her mom wasn't exactly what you'd call a domestic diva.

"Bells? Is that you?" her mother called from the kitchen.

"No, it's a burglar" Bella called back, rolling her eyes and kicking off her shoes before following the scents.

"Hi" Rnee Swan greeted her daughter as she stepped into the airy, farmhouse-style kitchen. "How was your day?"

Bella grabbed a pop form the fridge and sat at the table. "Pretty good. How was yours?"

That was all the encouragement her mom needed. "I'm almost finished with the painting I've been working on- you know, the one with the rive? I can't wait to show it to you."

What she lacked in cooking skills, she more than certainly made up for in enthusiasm for her work.

Bella looked at her mother's paint-covered smock and the rainbow of colours crusted beneath her short fingernails, and she smiled. "Mom, I think you got a little of that river on you."

Her mom looked down at her fingernails and grimaced. "Yeah, occupational hazard, I guess." And then she changed the subject. "I hope you're hungry. I'm making lasagne for dinner."

"Great" Bella responded with as much zeal as she could muster under the circumstances. It probably the only hot meal she would get all week- unless she cooked- so she didn't dare complain about it, for fear that her mom might go on strike permanently.

"Oh, and don't forget you're babysitting for Uncle Billy tonight."

Bella made a face, but her mom stopped her before she could even begin to argue.

"You promised, remember? They asked you over a month ago, and you said you would do it."

She was right, and Bella knew it, but it didn't stop her from whining a little.

"Yeah, well, a month ago it seemed like a good idea. Now, not so much. Besides, it's the weekend."

Bella loved her three little cousins, but they weren't exactly her ideal Friday night dates.

Her mom raised her eyebrows. "Oh, and did you have big plans, Cinderella? Big night at the ball?"

Bella laughed at the sarcasm in her mom's words. "No. Nut even nothing is better than babysitting." She sighed, knowing there was no way out of it. "Fine, I'm gonna go now, and I'll get something to eat at Uncle Billy's."

As Bella walked out of her door, an odd sensation washed over her. Like she was being watched. After glancing around nervously, and seeing no-one in sight, she all but ran to the relative safety of her truck.

**And she's got everything**

**That I have to live without**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

Her uncle Billy, her dad's brother, was the youngest of four boys and was at least eight years younger than either of Bella's parents. He worked a long side her father, who was the chief of police, and was the polar opposite of her father. Namely, he was funny, at least when he was off duty. When he was working, he was no-nonsense and serious...exactly like her dad.

His wife, Bella's aunt Sue, was only in her early thirties but she was one of those women who had youth quality about her that made it hard to pinpoint her age just by looking at her.

"How do I look?" she asked Bella.

"Why are you asking her?" Billy Black complained when his wife completely ignored the fact that he was standing right beside his niece.

Sue rolled her eyes at him like he was a slow-witted child. "Because all you care about is whether I'm done changing or not. You would say I looked good in a flannel nightgown if it meant we could leave."

He smiled at her. "You would look good in a flannel nightgown."

Sue shot Bella an apologetic look. "See what I have to live with?"

"I think you look great" Bella assured her aunt, and meant it. Then she added "But lose the necklace, it's a little too much."

Her aunt nodded, as though she had been thinking the same thing, and pulled the long chain over her head. "See? That's why I ask her."

"Good God, woman, we're just going to the movies" he teased her/

"No, no, no. Dinner and then a movie. This is a date might, my man, and don't you forget it." She pocked him in the chest as she spoke. "Besides, I don't get out enough. I want to look good."

Uncle Billy snaked his arm around his wife's waist and pulled her up against him. "You do look good. Are you sure we have to go out?"

Her aunt shook her head and ignored him, giving Bella last-minute instructions for cleaning up after dinner, putting the kids to bed, and emergence contact information, all of which Bella already knew.

"Sue Black..." her uncle announced, trying to get her attention. "Let's go already. She'll be fine."

When the door was finally closed, Bella went to where her cousins sat and began cleaning up their dinner mess.

Seth didn't really make a mess, his plate was tidy, and there were hardly any crumbs to wipe away from his spot at the table. Like Bella's dad, he was neat and meticulous.

It was little Jake and Leah's high chairs that looked like a bomb had gone off and Bella guessed that they had got into another food fight again, as usual. They had ketchup on their hands and their faces and even in their hair, and it took Bella almost half an hour to clean them up.

At least bedtime was relatively painless.

Jake and Leah were exhausted, and fell asleep in Bella's arms as she rocked them. Seth was four years old and went to bed all by himself.

Once it was all over with, Bella flopped down on the couch, grateful for a moment's peace. Until the doorbell rang.

She was torn between wanting to be cautious about who was on the other side of the door and not wanting the noise of the doorbell to wake the sleeping children...especially cranky two-year-olds.

"Who is it?" she called out in a loud whisper from the inside.

"It's Edward" she heard him quietly call back.

She smiled and unbolted the door.

Just the mere sight of him standing there made her pulse burst. "What on earth are you doing here?"

He shrugged, coming inside without waiting to be invited. Bella knew that her aunt and uncle wouldn't mind; she and Edward had been kind of a package deal for as long as she could remember. Everyone was used to the two of them being together.

"You're mom told me where you were, so I thought I'd come hand out." He made himself at home, sitting down on the couch where she had just been sitting. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

She didn't even bother replying; she just sat down. She was cold, so she leaned against the side of the couch and shoved her feet beneath his legs, letting his body heat warm them. He surfed through the channels until they found a movie they both agreed on, even thought it was already more than halfway over.

This was how it was with the two of them; the effortlessness they had.

She made a bowl of microwave popcorn, and they watched the rest of the movie while they joked around, and while Bella tried to forget how close he was sitting...and how warm he was beside her...and how good he smelled.

When her aunt and uncle returned, Edward left and, just as Bella expected, they didn't care even the slightest that he was there on the couch with her. After Edward left, Bella took the thirty dollars that her uncle gave her and headed out.

And again the oddest sensation that came over Bella as soon she stepped out of the door that she was being watched. She shivered and hurried towards her truck.

**Drew talks to me**

**I laugh 'cause it's just so damn funny**

_Vanessa:_

_Yes I've read it. I'm basing this story on the book because it just screamed at me 'an Edward and Bella story'._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

Sleep was hard to hold on to that night, elusive and slippery, evading her at every turn. She was restless, and her dreams were segmented and disquieting.

Swallowed in the darkest part of the night, everything suddenly felt wrong to Violet. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was that was bothering her, but it was there nonetheless, that unnamed distress, looming over her and making her feel helpless...powerless.

She knew that the new and improved Edward was partly responsible for these unwelcome feelings. But that wasn't really it...or at least, that was only part of what was troubling her.

Bella wasn't sure what the rest of it was.

Finally, at just after six o'clock in the morning, as the sun was rising up through the gloom in an effort to conquer the sky, Bella decided to give up. There was only one thing she could do when she feeling this way, one way to clear her tangled thoughts.

She dressed quickly and quietly in shorts and a T-shirt. Despite the fact that the September day promised to be warm, it was still early and there was a damp chill in the air. So, as an afterthought, she also pulled a sweatshirt over her head.

She top-toed out of the house and as she stepped outside, she took a deep breath of the dewy air while she put the earbuds from er iPod into her ears.

And then she jumped down from the porch and started running...slowly at first, an even, steady pace. She was actually aware of the gentle rhythm of her feet pounding up from her sols and she concentrated on the tempo, letting it clear her mind as she synchronized her breathing into measured regularity with her footsteps.

As she reached the end of the road, she took a sudden, sharp left, leaving the black top in favour of a gravel trail that appeared between the stands of tall cedar and fir trees. She could feel the crunching of the grave beneath her sneakers vibrating all the way up the muscles of her leg.

As she entered the clearing, at the top of the pasturelands that stretched out before her, the sight of the mountain against the painted backdrop of the dawn made her draw a deep, appreciative breath. Bella had been born and raised in Forks, so every step she took and everything she saw was so familiar.

She settled into an easy pace, allowing her thoughts to drift away, lost in her music and steady cadence of her body's movements. She liked feeling of control she had when she ran, that she was in command of her body, in charge of each muscle's perfectly timed movements. She felt strong as she looked down her long, ground-eating stride, and felt powerful in at least this element of her life.

She slowed only once, when the heavy sweatshirt became too warm for her to wear any longer, and she tugged it over her head, tying it tightly around her waist with its sleeves. But she reached her stride again easily and settled back into her rhythm.

By the time she had ran full circle, reaching her house, her T-shirt was saturated in sweat, and she felt relaxed from head to toe.

It was the car in the driveway, and the man-body perched on the hood waiting for her, that made her lose some of her newfound tranquillity.

He was grinning at her in a way that made her legs feel like they were made of nothing more solid then gelatine. They might have even quivered from something other than her early-morning run.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she slowed from a jog to a walk and placed her hands on her hips sweeping her long brown hair out of her face. It would take her a few minutes to get her breathing back to normal; longer if he kept smiling at her like that.

He shrugged and said "I couldn't sleep. What about you?"

She opted for the obvious and filled her voice with as much sarcasm as she could. "I live here, actually."

"Ha-ha, smart-ass. I was asking if maybe you couldn't sleep too." He shook his head at her wisecrack. "You know, since you were running at six-thirty in the morning I was gonna see if you wanted to go for a walk or something." He eyes her up and down, looking a little disappointed as he hoped down from the car's hood. "But it looks like you already went without me. That's okay; it was a long shot anyway."

Bella didn't like the way she was suddenly so eager to be near him. Even though they had been nearly inseparable for the past ten years, it now felt urgent to keep him close to her.

"All right, let's go."

"Are you sure?" He seemed sceptical. "I don't want to talk you into it."

"Positive."

They walked for a long time like that, with him tagging along in her wake, not saying a word to each other. It was normal for Bella to take charge once they had entered the cover of the woods; she had done so since they were just like kids. And even though Edward was nearly as familiar out here as she was after all these years, he let her lead anyway, comfortable taking second place to her.

As Bella watched out of the corner of her eye at Edward, she realised just how graceful and slender he was as he climbed over the rocks and branches. And now, more than ever, Bella hoped that this crush of hers would pass soon, so she could get back to the business of being his friend. Otherwise, this was going to be one long- and painful- year.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

The Lake house was crowded with teenagers, and they seemed to be coming and going in waves. The lawn leading down to the water was littered with towels and blankets, water bottles and pop cans, bags of chips, and kids of all shapes and sizes basking in the warmth of the summer heat as they soaked up the last of the season's sun.

But of course, this was Forks high's traditions.

The house belonged to the grandmother of Gabrielle Myers, a friend of theirs from school. Bella didn't even recognize all of the kids who were there that day, and she doubted that they all knew Gabrielle or her grandmother, but instead were tagging along with friends, or friends of friends and so on, who had invited them to come.

Bella had been forced to wear by Alice her midnight bikini and her see-through purple wrap around material that her mother had made her. Bella had to admit that she didn't look half-bad as she walked down the lawn with Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, Emma and (gulp) Edward.

"Race you to the water" Emmet- of course- shouted. Bella laughed.

"I'm already there" she teased and the six of them ran to the water.

Jasper got there first, being an athlete, and splashed Alice with icy water causing her to squeal. And Alice wasn't the type to take that without a fight. She aimed at Jasper but missed and hit Rosalie. That's how they all got into a water-fight.

"AHHH!" Bella shouted and caught Emmet full in the face.

He spluttered as the water went into his mouth and glowered playfully at her. Emmet charged at her, lifting her up effortlessly and tossing her into the water head first.

Bella rose, spluttering and laughing.

"A girl could use some help over her" she joked. The others laughed and Edward waded over, taking her hand and pulling her up. Bella felt the familiar jolt of electricity type shock run up her fingers and into her heart, making it to beat faster than ever. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at herself.

"Thanks" she muttered, blushing vigorously and hoping against hope that he didn't notice.

"Come on" Rosalie shivered. "It's getting too cold for my liking."

"Would you like me to warm you up?" Emmet joked, pulling her into a very, very, very, very long kiss; a kiss that could break all records.

"Get a room, you guys" Bella teased them, and the six of them retreated from the icy water, shivering like mad.

Bella plopped herself on her towel and used a second one to dry herself off.

A little less than an hour later, Edward asked Bella "Hey, do you want to go out on one of the Wave Runners with me?"

"What about your girlfriends?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Bella was embarrassed for sounding so petty. She tried to make it seem like she was only kidding as she added "I thought maybe Savannah's friends were all waiting for their turn down on the dock."

He just laughed. "No, Savannah was the only one. She wanted me to show her how to drive one." Bella was glad that he hadn't seemed to notice the irritation in her voice before.

"So, did you?"

He shrugged. "I tried to, but I don't think she was really paying attention. I think she just wanted someone to give her a ride."

_Not someone_ Bella thought to herself. _You. She wanted _you _to give her a ride. _Sometimes she wondered if he was really that dense, or if he just wasn't interested in returning the girls' attention. But when she saw the clueless look on his face, she realized that it had to be the former. He was such a guy!

"So, you wanna go with me?"

"I'll go, but I get to drive" she insisted with a grin, and Edward grinned back.

He didn't argue, though. He never did; he was too easygoing to care whether he was the driver or the passenger.

On the dock, Bella got rid of the material and was self-consciously aware of numerous boys watching her though she hadn't the faintest idea why. She plucked up a life vest and buckled herself into it before straddling the Wave Runner's seat. Edward followed right behind and casually gripped her hips as she started the engine and attached the coiled key fob to her life jacket, a safety measure that would cut the engine if the driver was thrown from the vehicle.

She leaned forward and began easing the watercraft through the cove, watching cautiously for other vehicles or for people who might have wandered too far from the water's edge. But once she reached the end of the cover and passed the buoys that signalled the end of the five-mile-an-hour speed limit, she grabbed the handle that controlled the gas and she pulled it, gunning the Wave Runner in high speed. She leaned farther forward and let the wind cool her face. For the first time in weeks, since well before school had started, she was no longer aware of Edward's proximity to her. He became any other passenger on the back of the vehicle as she got lost in the punching accelerations over the short, choppy waves.

They bounced across the top of the water, sometimes jumping high, revelling in those moments when they caught a larger wave and felt the Wave Runner surge beneath them as it hopped above the water, catching air.

Bella felt so free. She could hear Edward laughing from behind her as he held on right. She spun the craft first sharply to the right and then quickly to the left. He knew she was trying to buck him free, testing him to see how long he could hold on to her before being tossed into the frigid water of the lake as she manoeuvred the miniature speedboat back and forth. But he was stronger now than ever before, and his reflexes were sharper. He seemed to know which was she was going to go even before she did. It was like he could read minds.

After a while, Bella slowed down near a floating dock in the lake and parked the Wave Runner.

"Do you want to jump on?" she asked as she pulled the key from the ignition without waiting for an answer, making it more of a statement than a question.

Edward stood up and hopped from the Wave Runner onto the dock. Bella joined him and instead of diving into the water, she sat down and dangled her feet in the water.

"Its quiet here" he commented absently. He sat down beside her.

"Mm-hmm" she sighed, kicking her feet and splashing up water before kicking some water in his direction.

He nudged her with his shoulder but didn't say anything. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying the silence of being alone and enjoying each other's presence. It was easy...and comfortable.

Bella sighed when it started to feel like too much time had passed. "We should get back. I'm sure someone else is waiting for a turn."

Edward stood up slowly, silently agreeing with her, and Bella reluctantly followed. Without asking if he wanted to trade places, Bella again got on in front.

They took their time getting back, meandering lazily along the shoreline and staying out of the way of faster vehicles. And when they did finally reach the dock, they found Emmet, Jasper, Rosalie and Alice waiting for them.

"Hey" Alice called, even more excited than before- if that was even possible.

"Hey" Bella replied, hopping of the Wave Runner at the same time as Edward. "I'm guessing we're going to the woods."

Nobody bothering answering. Like Bella and Edward, the group didn't need words anymore to communicate with each other. It was all effortless.

Bella ran ahead, listening to the wind whistling in her ear. She wasn't prepared, however, for what she saw next. She screamed a scream that could have wakened the dead, and the last thing she saw were her friends running towards her before everything went black.

**He says he's so in love**

**He's finally got it right**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

Help arrived first in the form of the Bonney Lake Police Department and East Pierce Fire and Rescue, the first responders in this part of the lake.

Bella was wrapped in itchy wool blankets and perched in the back of the big red ambulance with an emesis basin hovering on the tops of her knees. She had puked twice since Edward and the others had carried her away from the young girl- not much younger than Bella herself. She's never been bothered by dead things really, even though she had only ever seen dead animals. But the way that girl was hanging, her own bloody crispy and flaky on her skin, the way her electric blue eyes stared lifelessly at her with the expression of fear and pain still echoing on her face. It wasn't until the immediate shock had worn off that her stomach finally settled down. The bowl she now held was just a precaution.

Besides, there were other distractions to take her mind off her weak stomach.

Even though Bella was the chief's daughter, she hated guns. Just the sight of them made her shiver. And being in the presence of so many men- and women- who carried guns for a living was a little more than disturbing for Bella.

Innocent people were killers too.

Bella often tried to avoid scenes like this whenever possible. But she was the one who discovered the body and so she would have to put up with the number of guns that were around her.

Her uncle Stephen and her dad had been called, at her friend's request, and even though their jurisdiction was almost a half hour away, they'd arrived in less than fifteen minutes. Bella wondered how many stoplights they'd blown through, with their sirens blaring, to get to her so fast,

She didn't ask, because she didn't care. She was just so grateful that they were there. She had felt immediately better when she saw them rushing toward her, and she had let them wrap her in a bear hug like she was a child. Having them both there made her feel safe again.

When her dad had finally released her so she could breathe while her uncle went to investigate, he slipped an arm loosely, but protectively, around her shoulders. "Geez, Bells, sucks to be you sometimes, doesn't it?" He squeezed her once again, quickly, and then added more seriously "I'm sorry you had to see that."

Bella shrugged.

Her dad seemed to understand that she didn't want to talk about it. "I think they're almost finished taking Edward's statement. I'll stay with you while they talk to you, okay I promise I won't leave you alone."

Her mom arrived a little later, since she had come straight from work. She was both stressed and worried, and she too buried her in an embrace, and whispered gently reassurances, as she endured recounting the events several times to several different people from several different agencies.

She, Edward, Rosalie, Emmet, Alice and Jasper had given the details that left up to, and included, finding a corpse hanging from a willow tree, cradled in the willow's long fingers.

Her Uncle Billy and dad's presence was reassuring to her on many levels, and eventually, maybe sooner than was usual, she was released to her family. Uncle Billy took responsibility for getting Edward home, since Esme- the only woman in the known universe who didn't own a cell phone- couldn't be reached and Carslie couldn't escape from work.

Bella rode with her dad, but Uncle Billy insisted on taking Edward with him. Edward didn't complain as he climbed into the front of the police cruiser, asking if he could turn on the siren.

He was like an eager five-year-old. It was kind of childish; but also really adorable. Boys and their toys.

Bella was glad for the relative calm that riding with her dad afforded her. He was a still sort of man, and sometimes just being within arm's reach of him could soothe her most frayed nerves. Besides, unlike her mom, who was a little New Agey and always encouraging Bella to 'share' her feelings, her dad wouldn't press her for information before she was ready. He would wait her out, listening silently when she did decide the time was right.

Bella leaned her head back and tried to absorb some of her father's tranquillity.

After a time, though, she couldn't not speak. "We were going into the forest as usual" she explained. Her voice sounded strange, as if it were echoing up from a long, vacant tunnel. She cleared her throat and tried again. "We usually go into the forest after we've had a go on the Wave Runners."

Her dad was quiet in his usual way. He was serious, stable, and solid. As always, he was Bella's rock.

"I didn't say anything about it to the others. I just saw a shadow; I had no idea it was a body. The others didn't know I had seen something until it was too late." She kept her eyes closed as the car drifted over the familiar highway towards home.

Her dad reached over and squeezed her knee. That was all it took.

The tears finally came, crushing the breath from her with a surprising intensity. Her dad didn't say anything, but she felt the car pulling off the road, and then he hauled her close to him. She cried like that, leaning against him inside of the parked car, for what seemed like hours but was probably only minutes. She didn't care that they were parked along a busy highway, or that she was clinging to him like she was a child. She let herself sob, crying for herself and crying too for the girl in the water, and for whomever that girl had left behind in the wake of her tragic death.

It bothered her to know that the girl had been murdered. That her nest friends had to see what she saw. She wished her bad luck wouldn't do anything to her friends. She hated it, and forcing others- those she cared about the most- to have to endure what she endured.

She held on to her father, even when the tears were nearly gone. She felt safe in his arms. "I hate it when that happens" she mumbled hoarsely into his damp shirt. "I don't mind it much when it's me that has to go through the bad stuff. But when they have to see...that...her..." She whispered the last word so softly that she wasn't even sure he had heard it.

He patted her back, and when he finally spoke Bella jumped a little. Every muscle fibber in her body felt bundled and tight.

"I'm sorry, baby" Charlie Swan said, his voice sounding stained. "I would do anything in the world to protect you from seeing things like that, your mother and I both. We never wanted you to go through anything like this."

Her dad pulled away and lifted her chin with his finger. "You will more on. I know you, Bella. You will be okay. Better than okay. Trust me." He smiled at her then.

Bella tried to smile back, but she still felt miserable. She couldn't explain it entirely, but it was similar to the way she felt about the times when she was around guns- she felt restless and unsettled. Only this was worse...much, much worse. She felt like she was buried beneath a stifling heavy cloak of darkness that was suffocating her, and she desperately need t claw her way out from underneath it. She didn't share her dad's optimism. To her it felt like her might never break free. But somehow, even if she didn't entirely buy into it, it made her feel better just to hear him saying the words. _She would be okay._

"We should get home" she reminded him, suddenly wanting to shift the focus away from her. "Mom's probably getting pissed that we're taking so long."

"Yep, I'm sure I'm going to get an earful about it." He patted her leg and then started the car again.

Bella couldn't shake the melancholy feeling that clung to her, infiltrating every pore of her body. She leaned back and closed her eyes, wondering if the nightmares from her childhood were about to return, to haunt her sleep once more.

**I wonder if he knows**

**He's all I think about at night**


	10. Chapter 10

Watching and Waiting

_The chaos of the scene was delicious. It created the perfect amount of disorder so that he was completely hidden amid the confusion._

_Undetectable._

_Just the way he liked it._

_He loved the hunt; it was what kept him going. But this... this was his guilty pleasure._

_Watching him work...the aftermath of a kill...exposed to the world._

_Of course, he had known it would be; eventually anyway._

_After all, it was hanging from a tree...ready and waiting for_ her _to find it._ She _was bound to come across it sooner or later. The only surprise was how quickly_ she _had found it._

_But that was what_ she _and her friends did every time they went down to the lake. They always went into the woods afterwards._

_It was okay, though. It was a clean drop. He had made sure of that. As usual, he had been careful. No witnesses, no evidence, nothing to tie it back to him._

_Spotless._

_Police and fire crews worked in unison to keep the scene contained as they combed the woods and anything nearby. Not that they would find anything anyway. He was way too careful for them._

_It excited him. He felt powerful. Alive_

_He knew how scared_ she _would be, even though_ she _didn't know that the body was meant for _her _to find. But all in good time. Soon the police would notify _her_ and then the hunt really would begin._


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 9

That day, the one at the lake, was like the last day of summer...not just for Bella, but for everyone. And even though the calendar didn't support the argument, the weather cooperated, ignoring the forecasts that had predicted summerlike temperatures, and turning sad and dreary by the following day.

Bella struggled to get through that first twenty-four-hour period. She continued to feel smothered, first by the darkness of night, and then by the oppressive gloom of that endless Sunday. She kept mostly to herself, staying in her room as much as possible, only half listening to the music coming from her headphones, and only half sleeping when exhaustion overcame her.

Edward and sometimes his family called several times, and as much as she wanted to hear Edward's voice, she avoided his calls. She felt like she owed the Cullen's an apology for what she had forced them to witness, but she wasn't sure what she could possibly say to them to make it better.

She felt like she was sleepwalking through those first few painful hours.

The second night came, and sleep finally defeated her. She had tried to avoid it, spending countless hours laying in bed and playing the what-if game over and over in her head. She was exhausted form her own self-deprecation and inner turmoil.

But just like when she was younger and she wanted to do all nighters, when sleep finally claimed her, it came at a cost. Nightmares of the dead girl drifted through the waves of her subconscious. Pale, lifeless eyes watched her closely whenever she closed her own. And no matter how shocking the images were, she couldn't avoid them as sleep reclaimed her, again and again, until the dawn.

She was back to school too soon, but didn't realize it until it was too late.

That Monday, as she ventured out, she thought the diversion would be good for her. Edward was relieved to see her, and even though Bella was still unable to ask for his forgiveness, his presence made her feel better...almost alive again.

He reached out to her and held her cold hand as they walked to class together. At any other time that simple gesture would have caused her heart to skip beats, but as the moment, it simply reminded Bella that she was still awake.

What she hadn't bargained for was that what had happened over the weekend, at the lake, hadn't happened only to her, or to the Cullens. It was as if it had happened to the entire school. And every student who could get close enough wanted to talk about the events... they wanted her to relieve it for them, over and over again.

_How did Bella and the others see her, the dead girl?_

_Did they recognize her?_

_What was it like seeing a dead body?_

_Was there blood?_

_Did she see bruises?_

_Was she missing body parts?_

The questions were endless.

Those who really knew Bella, her friends were more sensitive but no less chatty on the topic. And their questions, for some reason, bothered Bella more than the predictably grim curiosity of the others. They were too personal.

_Was Bella all right?_

_Did she want to talk about it?_

_Did her uncle say if they knew who the girl was?_

She felt like concern for her was being paraded around like an exhibition, and even when she tried to change the subject, which she did as often as she could, they always managed to bring it back around to the topic they really wanted to discuss: the dead girl hanging from the tree.

Edward, Rosalie, Emmet, Alice, Jasper and Angela were the only ones who understood her, the only ones who seemed to know that she wasn't ready for this yet. They stayed as close to her as they could throughout the day, and even though Bella thought that she should be trying to offer some sort of comfort to the Cullens, she doubted that she could have brought herself out of her own well of self-pity long enough to try. They didn't seem to mind, though. They didn't' appear to be damaged the way she was.

At home, her parents were patient. They listened when she talked, and she did talk to them, but when she was finished they would leave her alone again. It was a cautious dance as they took great care to stay out of her way, and she wondered if they thought she were fragile or breakable. Instead of being grateful for the space they gave her, she felt annoyed that they considered her so weak.

Her Uncle Billy mad regular appearances during that first week too, checking in on her and dropping off cookies that her Aunt Sue had baked the real homemade kind that didn't come in a roll from the refrigerated section at the grocery story. Bella tried but couldn't seem to find it in herself to appreciate the effort her aunt had made.

And then, almost simultaneously, two things happened that changed everything.

Just one week after Bella found the body in the lake, another dead girl as discovered.

It was exactly one week to the day.

And this one had a message to Bella.

_Finders Keeps, Losers Weepers my dear Isabella Swan._

Then, on the following day, and two cities away, on a Sunday afternoon, the girl from the lake- Carys Kneer- was buried by her family...laid to rest in proper fashion.

And although Bella was really happy for the girl, she really was, she couldn't bring herself to be truly grateful for the girl. Because now she was being hunted. Like a Lion to the antelope.

**He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar**

**The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star**


End file.
